The Tecumseh High School girls basketball team won a defensive battle against archrival Adrian 33-29 in Friday night's Southeastern Conference White Division matchup. The win put the Indians 2-0 over the Maples this season.

"We played good in spurts," said Tecumseh coach Jared Adamson. "We had a hard time scoring against Adrian's zone defense. They hurried to get back on defense and made it tough for us to pick up any points in transition."

Tecumseh (6-9, 4-6 SEC) struggled to get its offense going all night. The Indians showed a great rhythm at times, only to go cold over the next few minutes. Adrian (2-14, 0-8) was only able to generate points in the final minutes of the second and fourth quarters.

"I have to give credit to Tecumseh's defense," said Adrian coach Todd Barrus. "They pressured us, and we put ourselves in bad spots."

Both schools were closed for the day due to bad weather.

"I do think it messed up the girls' routine," said Adamson. "It's not something we can worry about, though. It was something both teams had to deal with."

The opening quarter was strictly defensive, with neither team able to get on the scoreboard in the first three minutes. Tecumseh attempted to work the ball in down low, but couldn't get through the Maples' zone. Meanwhile, the Indians' defense forced Adrian into making poor passes.

"At times, we were all right tonight," said Barrus. "We're getting better as the season goes on. I'm happy with the effort I saw. All the girls played hard tonight."

After the first quarter ended in a 4-4 tie, Tecumseh began to heat up in the opening of the second, going on a 6-0 run to take a 10-4 lead. The Maples answered back, cutting the Indians' lead to just 12-10 with less than three minutes left in the half. Adrian took a brief lead in the final minute, but a late jumper from Tecumseh's Kayla Kormos put the Indians up 15-14 at the half.

Much like the first quarter, the third was all defensive. Each squad scored just five points, but several Adrian starters got in foul trouble, including Kim Buie, Sam Regalado and Meghan Spagnoli.

"Foul trouble really hurt us," said Barrus. "Spagnoli picked up four in the first half, and our offense was just stuck without her."

The Indians held a slim 20-19 lead heading into the fourth, but got off to a hot start with a 6-0 run. The Tecumseh offense turned cold again shortly after, with neither team scoring again until the final three minutes.

Once the clock showed there was less than three minutes left, both teams shifted into high gear and upped the pace of the game. The Maple offense came alive, cutting the Indians lead to 27-25 with two minutes left, but Buie picked up her fifth foul in the process. With its middle defender gone, Kormos was able to score five straight points for Tecumseh, giving them a 32-25 lead.

Page 2 of 2 - Another late burst by the Maples, including a 3-pointer from Regalado, put the game at 32-29 for the Indians. A late free throw sealed the game for Tecumseh, picking up a 33-29 victory over their cross-county rival.

Kormos led all scorers with 18 points. Carley LaPlant finished with six points, and Hannah Galloway added five points for the Indians.

"We got a lot of effort out of our bench tonight," Adamson said. "It was a good team effort all around."

The Maples were led by Regalado with nine points. Keana Lofton finished with eight points and four rebounds, while Buie had six points and six rebounds.

"I can see that we're still improving," Barrus said. "We'll see Tecumseh again in the first round of districts. Hopefully we can make up for our first two losses then."

Tecumseh will travel to face Northwest on Tuesday, while Adrian will host Stockbridge on the same night.